Mr. Speaker, in reply to my adorable colleague, who gave a good explanation of what he did, I then sent a letter signed by my leader. I never received a response to my suggestions and to my main recommendation concerning compliance with the Official Languages Act.
My colleague said that we were informed. It is not about informing us, but about consulting the opposition leaders. That is in the law and it was not done.
At #ONfr, journalist Benjamin Vachet said the following, found in the section “The Process Called into Question”:
Despite this future appointment, in the hallways, many are questioning the appointment process that was relaunched in July. Candidates who applied in this second round have said that they were not contacted and are wondering if new applications were considered, or if it was simply a public relations exercise.
There are barely three weeks left in the appointment process for the Official Languages Commissioner.
Does my hon. colleague believe that, in three weeks, we can do what section 49(1) of the Official Languages Act asks us to do, that is, consult the leaders of the opposition and not inform them? That violates the Official Languages Act. The leaders of the opposition must be consulted.